Light on the Battlefield
by shadowroxas101
Summary: Zack and Cloud's story of how they met. Part of the Blood of a Fallen Angel series. Yaoi: ZackxCloud PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Light on the Battlefield

Chapter 1

"Hold up," I commanded, holding my fist in the air as a signal for my troops to stop. An unnerving silence had fallen over the dense and darkened forest. I could feel hidden eyes watching us as we bushwhacked our way through enemy territory.

"What is it general?" one of my men questioned, careful not to give away our position, if we hadn't already. Bright blue-green eyes scanned the trees nervously, looking for any signs of life.

_Hm, that's odd. I could have sworn I saw something._

"Keep a sharp eye out," I instructed, cautiously making my way forward, "We may not be alone out here, so don't let your guards down." They nodded in confirmation and proceeded to follow me.

We had been sent down here to locate and destroy all of the enemy camps in the area. So far we had only found three, and were now following a lead we recieved in the last town we passed through.

Just as expected, a few steps in we were assaulted with a hail of bullets.

"It's an ambush!" I called over the gunfire, "Seek out and destroy all enemy troops! Move it!"

"Yes sir!" the men cried in unison, then all pulled out their weapons and opened fire on the invisible assailants.

Our attack drove the enemy out of the trees and they charged, guns blazing. The arms battle quickly turned into close quarters combat as guns were traded for swords and bayonets. I was all too willing to switch out my gun for my buster sword, and began slicing through the enemy as if they were warm butter. In no time at all, my men had the remaining enemy soldiers pinned down and pleading for mercy.

"Tie them up and take them with us," I commanded, sheathing my sword, "They might be able to help us." They did as they were told. I pulled out my gun and headed deeper into the woods. There may be others hiding or too wounded to move that we could take as well. It was a necessity that we complete our mission, and we would use whatever resources we had to making finding the bases easier.

"You want some backup?" My friend Angeal called.

"Nah, I got it!" I called back, "Just keep an eye on the prisoners for me while I'm gone." He grinned and nodded in response.

Angeal was my best friend, and had originally been higher up than me. He was my mentor my first few years in the army. The man was skilled, wise and most importantly honorable. I look up to him as if he were my father.

After a few minutes, I was about to give up when suddenly, a flash of movement caught my attention. I couldn't tell if it was human or animal, but I chased after it just to be safe. When I caught up with it, I found that it was, indeed, human. The darkness obscured his features, so it was difficult to tell if he was an enemy soldier or simply a terrified civilian, either way, I wanted to catch him. He was really fast, but that made the chase all the more interesting. Finally, he began to tire and started to slow.

_Ah ha! Now's my chance!_

I took the opportunity and tackled the man to the ground. Holding my handgun to his head, I straddled him and flipped him over onto his back so I could see his face. My eyes went wide and I pulled back slightly. He was beautiful! His sky blue eyes seemed to glow, and his light, golden hair sparkled in the moonlight. He glared at me and held up his hands in surrender.

Shaking off his beauty, I went back into military general mode. "Who are you?" I asked, repositioning the gun in my hand into a more threatening position, " Are you with or against the Germans?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," he responded in a low, monotone voice. Well the fact that he answered in perfect English and that he lacked an accent ruled out the possibility of him being anything other than American. He groaned, clearly annoyed, "Can you please get off of me. As much as I enjoy the view, I'd like to get back to what I was doing."

I could feel the blood rush to my face and I quickly rolled off of him. We both stood and the blonde brushed the dirt off his clothes, however, I couldn't just let him go.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He protested as I grabbed his arms and bound them together.

"I'm just gonna take you back to my camp and ask you a few questions," I grinned, "You can never be too careful." He tried desperately to wriggle free, but eventually gave up and followed me willingly. To tell you the truth, I was really glad to have an excuse to take him back. I wanted to find out more about him. He captivated me with his beauty, and the last thing I wanted to do was let him go so willingly.

* * *

Sup, to all you. The people of fanfiction, whom I'm assuming most of you are my loyal fans.

Please review, I love to hear from you.

That, and this one might be a little hard to write, so I'll need all the positive support or constructive criticism I can get.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I hadn't realized how far I'd gone from my troops until the walk back. I think I may have gotten us lost.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" the blonde asked, annoyance filling his tone.

"Uh, I think so," I grinned sheepishly. He groaned and hung his head against his chest. After another few minutes, I turned back to the blonde, "So you gotta name or do I just call you beautiful?" His eyes went wide, and he looked away as a deep blush spread across his face.

"Why should I tell you?" He mummbled, "You're basically taking me hostage aren't you?"

"Touche," I chuckled, "Well, I'm Zack Fair. I'm a general in the U.S army."

"Um, this may sound like an odd question, but would there be a war going on, by chance?"

I stopped dead in my tracks, and he ran into my back. "What? Have you been hiding under a rock for the past forty years?"

The blush returned to his face, "You could say that."

"Oh," I replied. I didn't know he was serious, "Well, yeah. It's probably the worst war in the history of mankind. That's why they sent us over, to help stop the fighting. How come you're here? You're American too, aren't you? Why're you in Europe?"

"Uh...Special mission," he replied nervously. I raised a suspicious eyebrow as he tried to change the subject, "So you're here to stop the fighting? I figured wars were about killing people to prove your supiriority."

"Well, yeah...that's how they usually start," I sighed and took a seat on a nearby rock, "But the only thing we want to do is end it. We're not trying to prove anything." There was a pause as he took a seat next to me.

"Cloud," he finally spoke up.

"Excuse me?"

"My name," the blonde grinned, "I'm Cloud Strife."

"Cloud," I repeated, admiring the name, "It's nice to meet you, Cloud." I held out my hand in a polite gesture, then quickly pulled it back, remembering I tied his hands together.

"You know you can untie me, right?" he half chuckled, "I would have followed you anyway."

"Yeah, I believe you, but I'm still not gonna."

His brows furrowed and his face contorted into an 'almost' pout, "Why not?"

"Like I said, it's better to be safe than sorry. I can't untie you."

"But you just said you believed me," the blonde argued, cocking his head to the side. He really was pretty cute. It's a shame I had to take him prisoner.

"I do believe you, I just don't trut you," I grinned, then ruffled the blonde's spikes. Apparently he didn't like it since he pulled away slightly and shot me a look. Okay, scratch the cute thing, Cloud was adorable! "Hey, that's not to say I can't come to trust you."

"Mm, hmm," he mumbled, turning away to hide the actual pout he was wearing.

After a minute or so, I stood, brushing the dirt off my pants. "Alright, little buddy, let's go." He huffed and followed after me. Just then, a twig snapped somewhere in the brush. Out of pure instinct, I drew my gun, almost in sync with the sound. All of my senses were on full alert, and I could feel my muscles tense in anticipation. Cloud, too, suddenly seemed much more tense and alert. He gazed around nervously, almost as if his eyes were locked on some invisible target.

"You have to untie me," he whispered, inching backward toward me.

"You know I'm not going to," I growled. Just then, an enormaous black creature shot out from nowhere and lunged itself at me. Again, acting on instinct, I held my ground and pulled the trigger, firing off several rounds of bullets at once. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to hit. At that moment, I knew I was done for. However, just before the creature's massive claws could slice through my chest, I felt a hard shove, and the nest thing I knew, I was lying on the ground with Cloud on top of me.

"What the hell were you doing!" he yelled, "You need to untie me!"

I growled in frustration, then turned my attention back toward the monster, who was now readying itself for another attack. "Fine," I snorted and drew my knife, slicing clean through the ropes that bound him. He smiled, rubbing his wrist, then extended his arm almost as if he were holding some invisible weapon. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light. In an instant, the light was gone and had been replaced with an enormous sword that was snow white from blade to hilt.

The creature lunged at the blonde, and just as I was abut to open fire, Cloud charged. With one fluid motion he sliced straight through the creature, cutting it in half. The monster's lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud, black blood spilling out from underneath it.

"Well," he sighed, resting his sword on his shoulders, "that wasn't too dificult."

I was still completely awestruck and totally confused. "H-how did you do that?" I stuttered, still trying to comprehend what I had just seen.

He turned back to me, a look of disappointment etched onto his face, "Sorry Zack. I have to go."

"What do you mean 'you have to go'? Where the hell are you going to go to?"

"I completed my mission," the blonde replied simply, "I've got to return to the Dark Realm." I gasped as two enormous white wings spread from his back. His sword vanished in the same light it had appeared, and he turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called, jumping to my feet. Doing the only thing I could think, I grasped his hand and pleaded, "You can't go. You saved my life, I have to make it up to you somehow."

He sighed, then turned his head back to look at me. His sky blue eyes held the same sadness and disappointment that I'd imagine mine to have. "I'm sorry Zack," he whispered softly, "I have to leave. Your responsibility is to your soldiers, and mine is to humans like you. I can't forget about my priorities any more than you can."

"So this is it?" I asked, dropping the blonde's hand, "I'm never going to see you again?"

"No, probably not."

"Well, shit," I sighed, my gaze falling to the ground in defeat. Suddenly, I felt a hand on the back of my head, and the next thing I knew, my lips were locked with Cloud's. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hoisted him up. He, in turn, wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me closer, adding even more passion to the kiss. After a moment, we pulled away and I gently lowered the blond back to the ground.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, then turned away. In an instant, he vanished in a veil of bright light. My angel was gone, and I probably would never see again. Taking a deep breath, I turned, and headed off in the direction I believed my troops to be.

* * *

Everyone who has read my other story knows that it's a complete lie when Zack says he'll never see Cloud again. So just stick with me. I have some plans for this story, that I think you'll like.

As always, please Review.

I may have ideas, but I'm always willing to take suggestions on scenes I can add. All I have so far is the basic outline, and I need some stuff to happen in between. It can be rape, torture, someone getting injured, even a scene where everyone is just relaxing, whatever. Just send me some ideas because I'm completely stumped.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"But I'm telling you, Angeal, he really was an angel!" I whined pathetically. It had taken me a good four hours of constant bushwhacking before I made it back to camp. I was practically bombarded with a barrage of questions, but simply responded, 'I will answer all questions later, for now I would like to sleep', before passing out in the nearest cot. Now I was awake and eating breakfast with my mentor, trying desperately that what I'd seen last night was real.

"I know," he grinned and took a swig of his coffee.

"Really?" I asked, eyes lighting up and hope filling my voice.

"I know...that you were tired from all that hiking you did, and were probably hallucinating." The dark haired male smiled and patted my head like a dog. My expression dropped and I hung my head in defeat. He was never going to believe me no matter how convincing I made my story. The guy was a skeptic if I ever saw one. I sighed and took a bite of my food. "Come on Zack," he chuckled, "You don't honestly think an angel came and saved you from some giant shadow monster, do you?"

"Yeah, actually, I kinda do," I muttered in annoyance, "Cloud was real, Angeal! I just know he was, cause if he wasn't, then who the hell kissed me!" My little outburst caused some of the men from nearby tables to glance over at us.

Angeal shook his head and stood from the table. "Just don't get too caught up in this, alright? A good leader is one who keeps a level head, just remember that." I grumbled to myself as the older male patted my shoulder and walked away.

_Stupid Angeal. Why does he always think everything I tell him caused by some dellusion? I'm his superior now, he should listen to me! Cloud **was **real! Cloud... I wonder what he's doing right now?_

(Cloud POV)

Landing gracefully at the mouth of the cave, I stretched and rubbed the back of my neck. It was still stiff from when I'd been talked by that human, Zack. I know it had been careless of my to allow myself to get captured, but I didn't really see any harm in it. If things had taken a turn for the worst I could simply escape. I was at least twenty times stronger than any mortal, it's not like they could actually fight me off. Besides...there was something about him that I found interesting. Maybe it was the way it looked like his eyes were glowing in the moonlight, or it could've been his puppy-like demeanor, I really didn't know. The one thing I did know was that I couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Hey Cloud," Riku sighed from his bed as I entered our living quarters, "How was your trip to the human world?"

"It was only a mission, nothing more," I replied, taking a seat on the edge of my bed, "I simply did my job and returned home."

"Oh," he muttered, then rolled over so he faced the wall, indigo wings draped over his face. The silverette always got like this when his lover, Roxas was away. The two had known each other since they were alive, and had been separated for two years when Roxas' brothers kidnapped and tortured him. Now that the two were together again they absolutely loathed being apart, and were constantly at the others side.

"Where'd Vincent go?" I asked, matching the silverette's somber mood.

"Dunno. I'm sure he's around somewhere thought."

There was a short pause and the cave became filled with a deafening silence. Neither of us were very talkative, so this kind of thing happened often. Just then, the sound of beating wings echoed through the cave, and the silverette's mood instantly brightened. _Must be Roxas. _As expected, a small, blonde Tenshi sauntered in and headed straight for his lover.

"Hey Rox," Riku cooed as he pulled the little blonde onto his lap, kissing his head. Roxas managed a small smile and snuggled next to the silverette's chest. From the few years I've known him, Roxas hasn't said a single word, and only just recently began to smile again. I could only imagine what happened to make him like that; so reclusive and untrusting of people. The little Tenshi still wouldn't let either me or Vincent to get near him, and he would only ever smile around Riku.

"Hi Roxas," I smiled politely. He waved a little, then went back to hiding against Riku's chest. I couldn't help but feel some sense of pride that I'd gotten a reaction from him. That meant he was progressing, and hopefully, he'd even get to a point where he would talk to us. I had always figured that if I ever met my brothers, they would be something like Roxas. So I felt it in my best intrest to treat him like the little brother I never had, and the older brother Roxas deserved.

"You sure nothing happened while you were in the human world?" Riku asked again, a silver eyebrow raised in suspicion, "You're in an awfully cheerful mood."

"Well," I mumbled, turning away in embarrassment, "I did meet this human while I was tracking the Akukage. His name was Zack and he was a general in the military."

"Seriously? So did you guys talk, or..." he pressed, obviously curious. I figured I might as well humor him with some of the details, though I really didn't want to.

"Kind of," I shrugged apathetically, "He mostly talked while I listened."

"Ahhh, so it was a **he **then," the silverette smirked mischievously, "Tell me, was this man attractive? What was his name?"

I'd forgotten how much Riku enjoyed gossip. Then again, there really wasn't ever anything interesting going on in the Dark Realm anyway, so it was some form of entertainment. "His name was Zack Fair, and yes, he was rather attractive. Not like any of this matters. I won't see him again anyway."

"What," Riku gasped angrily, "You definitely need to go back and see him. I'm sick and tired of your depressed ass moping around the cave all day. If you don't go see him again, I'll bring the bastard here myself."

"You know you can't kill humans Riku," I sighed.

"I never said I was going to kill him. There are other ways to bring a mortal to the Dark Realm, you know." He snorted, obviously offended to some degree by my accusation, then turned back to Roxas who was nuzzling his chin.

"I guess I could..." I contemplated the thought aloud, "I did want to make sure he got back alive."

"That's the spirit!" Riku grinned.

(Zack POV)

"General, sir!" I turned to see one of my men running up behind me. He stopped and saluted.

"At ease. What information did you get from the prisoners?"

"Sir, we've identified the location of the enemy camp. It is located approximately thirty miles west of here."

"Great," I grinned, then waved my hand dismissively, "You can go ahead and release him now."

"Sir!" the soldier saluted once again, then turned and ran back the direction he came.

"Hm, thirty miles huh?" I muttered quietly to myself as I turned and walked back to my tent, "That's about a three day hike. It'll take a couple of days to get my troops rested too." I'd been so busy making preparations in my head that I hadn't noticed the person standing right in front of me until I landed flat on my ass. "Ugh, sorry," I apologized, still cringing on the ground, then looked up to find a pair of big blue eyes staring down at me, "Cloud?"

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Hi, sorry I haven't really been working on this story. It's actually rather difficult to write.

Anyway, I would really appreciate a couple of good reviews, and I hope you all keep reading.

Once again, sorry for not updating sooner.


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